The life expectancy of down syndrome patients has risen in the last few decades; most of them live beyond the age of 50. Many patients live fuller, richer lives in terms of the quality of their social relationships and interaction with family, as well as other members of society. The sad part of it all is that since down syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality, there is no cure for it. It is something that is life long and the patient and his/her family learns to cope with it.
Prognosis of down syndrome is affected by many other factors such as medical conditions like thyroid, congenital heart problems, leukemia, seizures, Alzheimer's disease, hearing problems, and so on. It is important that your doctor is aware of your complete medical history so as to aid the prognosis of down syndrome. As a result of these allied health problems, down syndrome patients are at an increased risk of premature death even though their life expectancy has gone up.
For this reason it is very important that down syndrome patients are taken for regular check-ups and that any change in health conditions are noted and reported to the doctor.